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Buck, I want you behind me in cover. If anything charges it'll be your job to bash its head into its stomach cavity!

"Heh, they won't even see it comin'!"

Ready my baton
Take the safest route to Brom's cover (preferably when the firefight is less intense)if I start coming under heavy attack or am wounded significantly
-Hide in the nearest cover possibleif a squid/enemy tries to get behind my cover
-Hit it until it either retreats, is dead/incapacitated, or I run out of non-penalized hits
-Do not look it in the eyes under any circumstances (if it is a squid)
At some point, shout "Just let us have some of that magic fuel, ya greedy bastards! We just need a few tablespoons, is all!"

Last edited by Hapchazzard on Wed May 23, 2018 8:55 am, edited 1 time in total.

Jump up (or approach it depending on how bad my condition is ) and grab my crowbar
Run to the nearest squid, grab him by the tentacles on his head and start smacking the living shit out of him with my crowbar (up to the max amount of attacks without penalty) then trow him to the side and find myself some cover.

Shout (or say depending on the distance) to Saoirse: You ok Saoirse-Boss? Bob-Boss made squids pay for hurt Saorise-Boss.

Shoot a single shot at one of the remaining squids with my pistol.
Stay into cover
Don't lose Jimmy

((is there anything worded out loud there? not quite sure :V))

((about everything except for the actions and description of actions))

"Guys! I have two enemy flyers over me, trying to keep them back with the AA turrets, which are a bitch to control. I'll tell you how to work them as best as i can. But for that YOU'LL HAVE TO GET FUKKIN OUT HERE AND HELP ME"

This stupid gun must have some way to speed up the motion. Their hands are close enough to human ones... likely one of the buttons thats easily reachable without moving the hands off the triggers.... or maybe some foot pedal...? Dammit.

check the controls for the outlined buttons/pedals.instruct any arriving friendlies on the known controls

if i cant find out how to get the gun properly turning, try guessing where they'd might be a few seconds later and try shooting at least in the general vicinity of that to force them to change course ((repeat as often as im allowed to fire))if i can find out how to get the gun turning properly, shoot at the flyer which seems most likely to open fire (on me or friendlies) the soonest. Lethal shots preferred, just "force them to abort" shots are fine as well. ((repeat as often as allowed to fire))

if my turret becomes dysfunctional, get to cover behind the nearest suitable object and fire my microwave amp with the intention to disable (maneuvering) thrusters as often as im allowed

Scoop up a round, roughly grenade-sized rock.
Yell 'Grenade!' and throw the rock according to the red marker on the map-cutout.
Use the (hopefully) distraction to move to Brom and Buck, keeping the head down during this (Green marking on map).
If no appropriate rock is found...
- Wait for an opportune moment for relocating.
Keep around Brom and Buck, staying in cover as much as possible.
Peek out of cover for targetting, and shoot one hostile with a tranqu.
Back in cover, reload another tranqu.
When Brom/Buck relocate
-try another shot at a non-tranqued hostile

*Yelling over the fray*
"That contract is over thirty years old and you voided it when you hired other people to do my job!
Don't talk to me about broken promises you inbred cephalopod! If you wanted my help, you should have abided by my terms!"

And I wasn't expecting them to hold a grudge for so long, but I wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip through my fingers.
"I finally get some recognition for my skills and it's for a simple trick? Have you been blindfolded up until now, Buck?
Bah, nevermind that. We've got some squids to kill!
Buck, I want you behind me in cover. If anything charges it'll be your job to bash its head into its stomach cavity!
I'll be advancing down the center. Gene, you should wait until I get their attention and advance up the stream. We can catch them by surprise that way.
Frank and Vynka should stay close behind us, but shouldn't leave cover for more than a few seconds at a time."

"Great! I'm sure the hiltorel will wait around for us to cut chunks out of their pets. We'll do it if time permits. Otherwise we're leaving as soon as we have the stellaplex!"

Damn, 'inbred cephalopod'. Keegan really knows how to lay it down thick.Check that both weapons are loaded - if one or both are not loaded, load them, then draw the shotgun.
Wait until Brom draws enemy attention, then advance up the stream.
If at any time I am attacked by hostiles, shoot the nearest one no more than twice, then immediately take cover behind the nearest object and reload.

Fukc, fukc, fukc, fukc, fukc! This is the absolute worst way this mission could've gone! I look nervously at Bob and Ishmael, wondering if they'll be okay. I'm enough of a soldier still to know that this plan they've hatched is the best way to survive...but that doesn't mean I like it. My mind fills with treacherous thoughts of my old team, wonders if I'd ever see the people in the nacelle again, and if not, how I'd take it this time...

With some difficulty, I shake off my doubts and my urge to charge in and help fight, for now, and leave three sets of painkillers on the floor for the team. "You've got it, Ishmael. Don't die, okay, you guys?"

I then call out over the comms. "I'm on my way, Gearhead! Hang on! Let me know how to use those damn things and I'll try and help shoot the bastards down!"

I may not be able to help in here...but I can kill some of them outside. I'll be damned before I let them fukc up my team any more.

I glance around somewhat nervously and make my way out to the AA gun immediately to Gearhead's west, following his instructions for use. I then fire it at whichever enemy ship Gearhead doesn't fire at, shooting only the maximum number of times I can without penalty.

I advance, moving quickly from cover to cover, until I'm just behind Brom's position.
Using my lasgun, I fire thrice at whichever hiltorel my squadmates are not targeting, in the same sweeping suppression way I used last turn.

*shouting loudly to the Hiltorel*
"Alright, I'm done playing around with you assholes. I'm giving you one last chance to surrender.
Anyone left holding a weapon when I come through will discover a whole new level of pain and misery!
If you shoot, I will kill you. Stand aside and drop your weapons if you want to live!"
*To my squad*
"Buck, you're with me! Don't let me down. I want to see squid brains splattered on every surface in this building!
Gene, I'll let you know when I have their attention!"
Head up the marked path with my shield up.
When i reach the end, turn to face squid #2.

*Yelling to the Hiltorel*
"Your time is up! If you decided to comply with my demands then good for you; you'll live to see another day.
If you're still planning on attacking me and my squad we'll have you looking like swiss cheese before you can blink!"
*To my squad*
"I've got their attention now! Move in and fill all hostile targets with lead! Paint the walls a nice shade of blue for me."
Ignore any non-hostile (as in not attacking) squids.
If there are any hostiles (as in actively trying to fight) not in cover when I reach the end of the marked path, target the nearest one and fire two shots with my pistol (one if they go down on the first shot.)

For my next target I prioritize exposed (as in not in cover) enemies over ones in cover.
I will fire a maximum of two shots from my pistol at this target.
If I've not exceeded a maximum of four shots by this point, I will select another target based on the two previous actions.
I will not fire more than 4 shots in total.

Squad Alpha:Everyone except Buck:
After a quick discussion of tactics, Squad Alpha begins putting their plans into motion. Buck and Vynkor move in closer to the core of the group while Brom shouts one last warning to the hiltorel to stop shooting. They don't, obviously. Really, why would they? Brom already fooled them that way once. It wouldn't be likely to work a second time.

As Gene reloads his shotgun, Frank picks up a rock and hurls it at the enemies, shouting, "Grenade!" The "grenade" does not work for various reasons, but it matters little because they're not really paying any attention to the rock-hurling caveman in the back. Frank splashes up the shallow stream regardless, and Brom edges forward into cover behind a plot of short bushes - all as shots continue to fly overhead.

At this point, everyone is sandwiched pretty close together: Brom in front, followed by Gene with a shotgun in cover behind a boulder, with Frank next to him. Behind a second boulder, continuing the order, there are Buck and Vynkor. They're all in a fairly small area...

...which is undoubtedly a critically dangerous decision, because of one simple matter everyone seemed to have overlooked, except perhaps Frank (and even then, Frank clearly overlooked it too):

Grenades.

At this particuarly opportune time, the hiltorel are heard to shout something in their language, and all of them duck down at once, as a shiny silver-black object lands in the center of Squad Alpha's little mossy playground. Nobody recognizes it for what it is immediately, but given it's clearly some sort of device, Gene considers poking at it. Brom looks at it too. As does Frank. And Vynkor. One of them gets the idea that it's a grenade, and shouts out their fears in a rush: "Grenade, it's a grenade!" But there's no time to duck for cover. No time to run. No time to hide, no time to grab it and toss it back.

Without a sound, the gates of heaven open, and the world goes a pure, unblinking white. You are effectively blind - and, according to the sounds your squadmates are making, you think they're probably just as blind as you are. Moving everyone into the same place possibly wasn't the best tactic in this situation.

*shouting loudly to the Hiltorel*
"Alright, I'm done playing around with you assholes. I'm giving you one last chance to surrender.
Anyone left holding a weapon when I come through will discover a whole new level of pain and misery!
If you shoot, I will kill you. Stand aside and drop your weapons if you want to live!"
*To my squad*
"Buck, you're with me! Don't let me down. I want to see squid brains splattered on every surface in this building!
Gene, I'll let you know when I have their attention!"
Head up the marked path with my shield up.
When i reach the end, turn to face squid #2.

*Yelling to the Hiltorel*
"Your time is up! If you decided to comply with my demands then good for you; you'll live to see another day.
If you're still planning on attacking me and my squad we'll have you looking like swiss cheese before you can blink!"
*To my squad*
"I've got their attention now! Move in and fill all hostile targets with lead! Paint the walls a nice shade of blue for me."
Ignore any non-hostile (as in not attacking) squids.
If there are any hostiles (as in actively trying to fight) not in cover when I reach the end of the marked path, target the nearest one and fire two shots with my pistol (one if they go down on the first shot.)

For my next target I prioritize exposed (as in not in cover) enemies over ones in cover.
I will fire a maximum of two shots from my pistol at this target.
If I've not exceeded a maximum of four shots by this point, I will select another target based on the two previous actions.
I will not fire more than 4 shots in total.

Hunching behind your shield for safety, you attempt to blink it away, but it remains despite your efforts. You can't very well sit idly, though. Trying to gauge where the enemy is, you fire another shot through the bushes, and then try to fire another - but your pistol clicks. You need to reload.

Your hands are almost shaking as you attempt to remember where the bullets are, reloading your weapon completely blind. It's at times like this you get a real appreciation for your sense of sight. Speaking of your vision - it's getting ever so slightly more "normal" over time - you're beginning to make out vague dark lines here and there, although they smear and blur like some kind of low-budget movie shot. It's at this moment that you hear a swooshing, slapping noise like someone running barefoot over pavement - you see something to your left - a squid? It's still very hard to see. You try to move your shield to block - but you're not fast enough, and a razor of ice and steel slices you deeply right across the center of your chest. Unable to shout, you fall back with a gasp, half-choking against the pain as you quickly raise your arm and fire another shot at whatever interloper just attacked you - but you can't even tell if you hit.

Instead, you heard the loud roar of Buck behind you. "HEY!" he shouts. Gene's shotgun sounds next to you, BAM, echoing in your ears. You hear a scuffle - a struggle - a solid THWACK and Buck's wild voice crying out, "JUST LET US HAVE SOME OF THAT MAGIC FUEL, YA GREEDY BASTARD! WE JUST NEED A FEW TABLESPOONS, IS ALL!" There's another powerful WHACK - the crunch of bones - and Gene's Gauss shotgun smashes out another round. You see something stumble backwards and slump down into a pile in the path.

Your eyes are beginning to clear. It was a squid, obviously, as you could have guessed. Buck may have just saved your life.

Scoop up a round, roughly grenade-sized rock.
Yell 'Grenade!' and throw the rock according to the red marker on the map-cutout.
Use the (hopefully) distraction to move to Brom and Buck, keeping the head down during this (Green marking on map).
If no appropriate rock is found...
- Wait for an opportune moment for relocating.
Keep around Brom and Buck, staying in cover as much as possible.
Peek out of cover for targetting, and shoot one hostile with a tranqu.
Back in cover, reload another tranqu.
When Brom/Buck relocate
-try another shot at a non-tranqued hostile

You can't see a thing. Groping about blindly, you try to get back behind your rock, readying your crossbow with shaking hands. You're just beginning to wish you hadn't done the grenade toss, and you'd stayed back somewhere safe where you probably wouldn't have been as likely to be blinded by the flash grenade.

Loading your crossbow blind is really tricky though. Eventually your sight clears enough to get it loaded properly and then realize - you can't see to fire it anyway. Past a few meters, everything is a swimming haze. You aim in the approximate estimated direction and hope for the best.

Behind you, you suddenly hear a scuffle - the sound of a shout, a cry - something that sounds like the hiss of a sweeping blade. You start trying to reload. Buck shouts, "HEY!" You turn, and can partially make out some whitish shapes moving around. You can absolutely hear the sound of Gene's shotgun - and then the sound of a solid THWACK as Buck smites the attacking squid across the face. "JUST LET US HAVE SOME OF THAT MAGIC FUEL, YA GREEDY BASTARD!" he shouts. There's another thwack - another Gauss shotgun round being fired - and you see something collapse into the gravplant path.

You fire at it just to be sure, but at this point your vision is still swimming a bit. You're not even sure you hit. Actually, you're probably lucky you didn't hit an ally.

Things are becoming a bit more clear now... but you're pretty sure your lesson is learned: grenades are bad, m'kay. ....At least if you're on the receiving end.

*Yelling over the fray*
"That contract is over thirty years old and you voided it when you hired other people to do my job!
Don't talk to me about broken promises you inbred cephalopod! If you wanted my help, you should have abided by my terms!"

And I wasn't expecting them to hold a grudge for so long, but I wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip through my fingers.
"I finally get some recognition for my skills and it's for a simple trick? Have you been blindfolded up until now, Buck?
Bah, nevermind that. We've got some squids to kill!
Buck, I want you behind me in cover. If anything charges it'll be your job to bash its head into its stomach cavity!
I'll be advancing down the center. Gene, you should wait until I get their attention and advance up the stream. We can catch them by surprise that way.
Frank and Vynka should stay close behind us, but shouldn't leave cover for more than a few seconds at a time."

"Great! I'm sure the hiltorel will wait around for us to cut chunks out of their pets. We'll do it if time permits. Otherwise we're leaving as soon as we have the stellaplex!"

Damn, 'inbred cephalopod'. Keegan really knows how to lay it down thick.Check that both weapons are loaded - if one or both are not loaded, load them, then draw the shotgun.
Wait until Brom draws enemy attention, then advance up the stream.
If at any time I am attacked by hostiles, shoot the nearest one no more than twice, then immediately take cover behind the nearest object and reload.

This shit is not good. You hunker down and ready your shotgun, trying to get ready to fire in case anyone comes over. You're calm and controlled - you went through this sort of thing in training.

Your eyes are just starting to clear up when you hear a soft scuffling sound approaching from the path - a smeared outline of a shape flickers in and out of view, and immediately, without hesitation, you level your shotgun and loose a powerful blast at it. The shape continues towards you undeterred, when you hear Buck shout somewhere over to your left: "HEY!" He roars, lunging, and smacks the blurry beast with his plasma baton. You hear it scream. "JUST LET US HAVE SOME OF THAT MAGIC FUEL, YA GREEDY BASTARD!" he roars at it, giving it another solid THWACK that sends it tumbling. You follow up that amazing strike with a well-aimed shotgun blast - and you know you hit, too, because you see some blurry blue stuff splatter on the rocks behind it. That's blood, right?

I advance, moving quickly from cover to cover, until I'm just behind Brom's position.
Using my lasgun, I fire thrice at whichever hiltorel my squadmates are not targeting, in the same sweeping suppression way I used last turn.

After the white blast of the flash grenade, you try to get back in cover, but end up tripping and falling backwards. You can't see a damn thing. As you try to get back into cover, you feel a sharp, stabbing pain on your left shoulder, accompanied by the sound of searing flesh (and of course, more of the white lights of heaven). Grimacing, panting, you heave yourself back into what you absolutely hope is cover and hope for the best.

This is the part where you discover that "hoping for the best" does little more good than throwing pennies at a fountain. The reason for this realization is simple: you can't move your left arm. At all. Shit just got from bad, to worse, to worst and then some.

Trying to aim your lasgun with a single arm, you hold it out around the corner of your rock, pull the trigger, and wave it around a bit, hoping you'll hit something - which is easier said than done, of course, not being able to see anything in the first place. Aiming it with a single arm feels terribly inaccurate. You see why it was made for two hands. Your eyes are clearing up - you can see colors and (sort of) see shapes again, but everything's blurred and smeared. You feel rather disoriented. You think you hear a shout of pain, though - did you actually hit someone? It certainly wasn't from your squadmates, so you may well have.

Suddenly, behind you, there's a scuffle - you can't tell much about going on, but your eyes are clearing up just enough to see movement. You hear a powerful shotgun blast - the slicing sound of a sword - and you hear Buck roar, "HEY!" This exclamation is followed by a very solid THWACK! "JUST LET US HAVE SOME OF THAT MAGIC FUEL, YA GREEDY BASTARD!" Buck shouts - you hear another loud SMACK, followed shortly by a shotgun blast. Something crumples into the path over to your left. It's hard to tell what it is, but given the circumstances, you're guessing it's probably a squid.

((Note for future: Aiming a lasgun with one arm is HIGHLY inaccurate. The shot you got off on someone actually took place before your arm was injured; I shifted it to after for the sake of flow. Same effect either way, but you shouldn't count on being able to use your lasgun very well anymore. You have a very high chance of missing.))

Buck, I want you behind me in cover. If anything charges it'll be your job to bash its head into its stomach cavity!

"Heh, they won't even see it comin'!"

Ready my baton
Take the safest route to Brom's cover (preferably when the firefight is less intense)if I start coming under heavy attack or am wounded significantly
-Hide in the nearest cover possibleif a squid/enemy tries to get behind my cover
-Hit it until it either retreats, is dead/incapacitated, or I run out of non-penalized hits
-Do not look it in the eyes under any circumstances (if it is a squid)
At some point, shout "Just let us have some of that magic fuel, ya greedy bastards! We just need a few tablespoons, is all!"

After a quick discussion of tactics, Squad Alpha begins putting their plans into motion. You wait until the gunfire lulls just a bit before dashing across the ruined path to the boulder that Brom stood behind only moments before. Meanwhile, Vynkor is getting into cover behind you, Frank is splashing towards you up the shallow stream, and Brom and Gene are moving forward. It isn't long before all of you are in a small group together, in a ">" shape: Brom in front, followed by Gene with a shotgun, with Frank behind them. You and Vynkor are behind a second rock. Everyone is in fairly close proximity. This is about to reveal yet another example of Brom's bad judgment.

Naturally, you don't find out about any of this until after the fact: you're too busy keeping your eyes squinted shut so that none of those squid-monsters try to mind control you. You've seen it done before in movies, we all know that by now. You know very well what you're dealing with. In fact, as soon as you think you hear something in your head, you squint your eyes shut and start thinking about Lady Booze. It's the only thing that keeps your head clear, after all.

And even with your eyes so tightly squinted shut, for a brief instant, enough pink-tinted light makes it in that, even when you open your eyes - everything looks a little red. "Guys?" you ask. "What was that?"

But nobody answers - Brom is hunched behind his shield, shaking his head and trying to fire shots through/over the bushes - Gene has slumped back against the rock and is blinking his eyes, and Frank is trying, in vain, to load a bolt into his crossbow. He almost shoots himself with it. His hands are shaking. Vynkor's not much better.

...And a squid is crossing the stream towards you over the little bridge, headed straight towards your group. "They're comin'!" you shout, getting into cover, baton in hand. It hisses and sizzles with electricity, plasma crackling along its surface as you grip and squeeze the handle. You're ready to strike.

Spinning, whirling, like a whirlwind of blades, the hiltorel reaches the group and strikes at Brom, a blade in each of its upper arms while it uses the lower two to balance. Brom fires twice - Buck fires once - Frank falls backwards into the stream and Vynkor doesn't even seem to see it at all. The enemy, continuing its path, slashes Brom hard across the upper body. "HEY!" you shout, stepping forwards - and the squid sees you. Quickly, reflexively, you cast your eyes away from it, refusing to meet its gaze as its half-dozen tentacles dance lightly across the ground, its momentum carrying it forward towards you fluidly, gracefully under the low gravity -

- and, planting your feet firmly, you take a solid step forwards and bash its fukcing face in. It stumbles backwards, screeching in agony: a huge charred mark strectches down the side of its face - its head-tentacles are on fire, and a new gash across its neck is gushing its alien blood. "JUST LET US HAVE SOME OF THAT MAGIC FUEL, YA GREEDY BASTARD! WE JUST NEED A FEW TABLESPOONS, IS ALL!" you shout, taking another leap fowards for a powerful spinning THWACK across its chest. Its head crumples forwards - limbs go limp - it drifts backwards and crumples to the ground in a heap in the obliterated path, just as Gene manages to find it with his shotgun. A spray of milky blue blood spurts forth, spattering the path, the rock, everything nearby.

As shots fly past you, you take a dignified step back into cover, fuming. You don't know what the damn squids did to your friends, but you don't fukcing like it one. little. bit.

((Fun note: Thanks to Buck saving the day, nobody in Alpha is currently at risk of panicking! ))

Squad Beta:
((Ishmael grants himself, Saoirse, and Bob a charisma bonus this turn. (Caleb leaves before he can take advantage of it.)))

"Caleb, our Engineer needs help. Please leave some painkillers on the floor for me, and go outside. We shall deal with this room."
"A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up pasta sauce. Now we fight."

Take cover.
Make electricity from the hacked turret flow into its electronics, frying it.
Slam the still-armed Deceiver with 2 gees
AND take his weapon with my lash.
Slam the remaining enemy with 2 gees, too.

IF all the enemies are down, go grab some painkillers and use them.

You hastily get behind cover, deciding it is probably wiser to get well out of the way of the enemies than take another bullet to the face. If it wasn't for the adrenaline you'd probably be on the floor right now.

"Arrrr!" you shout. "Caleb, our engineer needs help! Please leave some painkillers on the floor for me and go outside. We shall deal with this room." Caleb hastily follows your orders and leaves.

Turning, you reach an arm around the corner and fry the turret that shot you with your electro-amp unit. It's fortunate you did, because right there in front of you is the same squid you just stole the weapon from, and he has a melee weapon of some sort now, which he's wildly trying to attack you with. You can tell he hasn't trained much in using it. You step aside, narrowly dodging his strike; it smashes through the corner hazard-marked crate beside you and a number of small packages spill out of it. You put some distance between yourself and the sword-wielding madman (madsquid?) and try to slam the still-armed hiltorel behind the sword-wielding one with 2 Gs - but, as you have to sidestep one attack after the next from this other guy, it's not exactly the best environment for concentrating.

Meanwhile, Bob is charging at the enemies, and the one trying to slice you in the face is... still trying to slice you in the face. Bob manages to rush up behind him with his crowbar just as Saoirse puts a stasis field around him - and the crowbar gets stuck in the stasis field, dropping into the inside of the globe. Bob is extremely lucky he didn't lose his arm too. You leave that one and advance toward the other hiltorel scavenger - but don't manage to get there before Saoirse puts up a second stasis field.

Very nice. That's three enemies taken care of - fairly simple, you would say. There is now potentially room for negotiation. You turn and head back to where Caleb hastily dropped the syringes, pick one up, and thrust it into the front port of your suit. You soon feel a prick on your chest, and can almost feel it rushing through your body. It feels good. Relieving. Like the gentle, loving embrace of His Noodliness.

Now you can attend to other matters, like punishing heretics and such.

Jump up (or approach it depending on how bad my condition is ) and grab my crowbar
Run to the nearest squid, grab him by the tentacles on his head and start smacking the living shit out of him with my crowbar (up to the max amount of attacks without penalty) then trow him to the side and find myself some cover.

Shout (or say depending on the distance) to Saoirse: You ok Saoirse-Boss? Bob-Boss made squids pay for hurt Saorise-Boss.

Shoot a single shot at one of the remaining squids with my pistol.
Stay into cover
Don't lose Jimmy

You look up dazedly. Your head is still spinning a bit. You feel disoriented and somewhat stunned. "Saoirse-boss?" you ask. As your vision careens and blurs, you see blood dripping down Saoirse's leg. A fiery rage fills your chest. "STUPID LITTLE SQUIDS HURT SAOIRSE-BOSS?!" you roar, getting to your feet as you drag the heavy crowbar from the ground beside you. "NOW BOB HURT SQUIDS." Turning, with no regard for your own safety, you charge, barreling toward the squid currently attempting to attack the fat man, Ishmael. "RAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGHHHHHHH!" you roar, trying to grab the little squid by his head-hair-tentacle-things (at which point you realize - your other hand is in no shape for such a maneuver). He's a fast little squid though. He moves out of the way, and gets ready to attack you - and at that moment, a glowy orb-sphere appears about him, trapping him in place. You smirk. This works to your advantage. With a heavy hand, you bring down your crowbar on his side with as much force as you can muster. His arm crumples under the blow with the sound of splintering bone. "TAKE THAT YOU STUPID LITTLE SQUID!" you roar, drawing back the crowbar for another strike.

This is the part where you learn a little bit more about the physics of shields. Shields that are intended to be one-way shields do not like it when things try to move in the opposite direction. In short: your crowbar is stuck halfway up the handle, and it's not budging. You are able to push your crowbar farther in - and in fact, it slips farther in seemingly almost by itself when you try to hold it in place - but it won't come back out.

This is a bit of a pickle.

You ponder, for a moment, whether you should drop the crowbar and cut your losses, but you decide - as long as the crowbar is in the shield, you might as well go in for another swing - and so you do, bashing him across the chest with the crowbar.

Now your hand is stuck, too. Nice going, Einstein. The squid, while wheezing a bit and in a fair bit of agony from his broken arm, scoots back to the other side of the shield and, it looks like, chuckles. His large eyes watch you, blinking in the wrong direction, as you shake your hand, trying to get it free. This of course only draws you even farther in. The squid laughs and wrenches the crowbar out of your hand, looking at it in a mixture of amusement, distaste, and possibly disbelief. You don't like his attitude, so you lunge for him to teach him a lesson. You're going to smash his ugly face against the wall! Let's see how your two enemies get along together!

...Except, now most of your arm is stuck, too, and the squid has crouched down quite low, out of your reach. He is certainly outright laughing, now - through tears of pain, as it looks, but nevertheless laughing. He half-heartedly whacks at your knuckles with the crowbar, but without much room (or strength) to get a good swing going, it doesn't break anything - it just hurts. "STUPID LITTLE SQUID!" you shout, fumbling with your bad hand to get your pistol out of its holster... and it clatters to the ground. You bend down to pick it up.

Another bad decision. Now your right hand, left hand, and the top of your head/helmet are stuck as well.

This is becoming almost frustrating. You try to shift to see if you can wiggle your way out, and in the process, drop Jimmy from under your arm. He falls over to the side, out of reach. With a growing horror you realize that you have no way to pick him back up. You'll be stuck here for all eternity. Your life flashes before your eyes as the squid mocks you, laughing mercilessly at your demise. You'll never escape, never have a girlfriend, or a family... you'll always be here, stuck in a bubble with a squid.

Bob please be fine please be fine please be fine...
Goddamn [redacted Irish swearing] idiots!I clench my teeth and use my electro amp to let bolts crackle all around me in an intimidating, flash and loud but harmless display of pyrotechnics, while shouting of the top of my lungs
"EVERYBODY STOP!!!!"
You two [more redacted irish swearing], your idiot friend isn't dead, he's just knocked out, so stop bloody firing at people who just bloody try to help you!"

If they listen and stop attacking:
upon seeing Bob starting to attack them, shout "Bob, no, wait!", quickly throw a stasis bubble over him and (if succesful) run in front of him, hug him and say "It's ok Bob, it's ok, it was just a misunderstanding, they aren't bad squids, they just thought we killed their friend..."
If I manage to calm him down, I release the bubble say "Can you help them like you wanted to? I need to go help Gearhead.", I dash outside, ignoring the pain in my leg.
I try to see the ships that are attacking us, and see if I can discern/remember anything useful about them.
I get in my ship, lift off, and fire at the nearest with a bubble stream, aiming for a weak spot if possible. On a successful hit, I tell whoever is manning the turrets to shoot that ship (if it's not destroyed yet).
If one of the ships is close enough, I try to see what happens if I use a stasis bubble on someone piloting a ship.
Then I get in cover from the ships (behind the nacelle or something)

If the Hiltorel inside keep attacking (or start again), I say "Okay fine, screw it" and:
Get back into cover if I'm out of it
if I still think Bob is severly hurt, I start throwing lightning at the two remaining squids (up to three attacks)
otherwise, I try to stasis them (also up to three attacks).
If we take them all out, I dash outside and do the get-in-ship-and-attack-thing (see above)

Bob, please be fine, please be fine, you whisper to yourself, but wrench your attention away from him long enough to try to put a stop to this madness. "Goddamn moncaí caidreamh asal máthair idiots!" You clench your teeth and step out into the open, thrusting your arms out to the side as electricity crackles away from you in all directions like a human plasma globe. "EVERYBODY STOP!" you scream out. "YOU TWO IASC BÓ AIRGEAD FÉIMHEACHT DEARTHÁIREACHA! Your idiot friend isn't dead! He's just knocked out, so bloody stop firing at people who just bloody try to help you!"

Absolutely no one is listening to you. Bob is getting up off the floor, so that's good... or it would be, if he wasn't picking up his crowbar and rushing towards the hiltorel with his crowbar. "Olc boladh bia teach fo-éadaí," you groan inwardly. So much for diplomacy. "Fine, screw it!"

You lower your arms and jump back into cover just in time to dodge a plasma shot, and fire back with a stasis bubble of your own - or try, but your aim is off, and it ends up getting part of the ceiling and then fading away into nothingness. Meanwhile, Bob is trying to smack one with a crowbar, that same one is trying to smack Ishmael with a sword, and Ishmael is ... well, you're not actually sure what Ishmael is doing, but he moves a lot faster than you would've expected for someone so rotund.

After another attempt at a stasis field, you're able to trap one squid, and then you follow that up quickly with another stasis field on the second one, only to see the third jump up and take cover behind yet another crate.

This is not going quite as planned. You'd hoped to have been outside by now, and the loud explosions and AA fire coming from outside can't be good. Gearhead and Caleb are shouting at each other over the comms, so they're both still alive, at least. Now you have to figure out a way to deal with the third squid, who seems to be taking stock of the situation (and is still armed).

Fukc, fukc, fukc, fukc, fukc! This is the absolute worst way this mission could've gone! I look nervously at Bob and Ishmael, wondering if they'll be okay. I'm enough of a soldier still to know that this plan they've hatched is the best way to survive...but that doesn't mean I like it. My mind fills with treacherous thoughts of my old team, wonders if I'd ever see the people in the nacelle again, and if not, how I'd take it this time...

With some difficulty, I shake off my doubts and my urge to charge in and help fight, for now, and leave three sets of painkillers on the floor for the team. "You've got it, Ishmael. Don't die, okay, you guys?"

I then call out over the comms. "I'm on my way, Gearhead! Hang on! Let me know how to use those damn things and I'll try and help shoot the bastards down!"

I may not be able to help in here...but I can kill some of them outside. I'll be damned before I let them fukc up my team any more.

I glance around somewhat nervously and make my way out to the AA gun immediately to Gearhead's west, following his instructions for use. I then fire it at whichever enemy ship Gearhead doesn't fire at, shooting only the maximum number of times I can without penalty.

This is the absolute worst way this mission could've gone! You look nervously at Bob and Ishmael, wondering if you'll be okay. You're enough of a soldier to know that this plan they've hatched is the best way to survive, but you still don't like it. For a moment your mind is filled with thoughts of your old team and how they died, but you managed - with some effort - to wrench yourself away from both those thoughts and your new squad, tossing three painkiller syringes on the floor behind you as you make a dash for the exit.

"I NEED SOME HELP!" Gearhead shouts over the comms.

You switch on your radio. "I'm on my way, Gearhead!" you call back, running down the front ramp of the nacelle. "Hang on! Just let me know how to use these damn things, and I'll try to help shoot the bastards down!" Gearhead, already at a turret on your left, glances over his shoulder at you and waves urgently at the first turret on your right - you steer yourself in that direction. "So how do these damn things work?"

"It's simple!" he calls back, firing a few shots at one of the ships to get it to turn away - its plasma heavy fire hits the ground in front of his turret. "There's two dials up top, a power switch at top-right and power intensity is selected with a dial over on the left, then you have the levers that controls fire focus and spread, and a joystick that controls aim with a trigger on the backside of it. Then below those..."

He rattles on for a while. By this time, you've seated yourself behind the controls and you're trying to figure out how the hell all of it is supposed to work. None of it make sense, everything is backwards... well, somewhat. You're able to get the part about the aiming, at least - that's fairly straightforward - but it turns altogether too slowly.

"And then you just fire, like this!" Gearhead finishes, as though you had understood every word he said. He fires, and his greenish plasma bolts rip open the belly of a dual-pod craft flying away from him, sending it down to the sandy valley floor in an graceless heap of wreckage. The second one swoops in, and you try to fire a shot of your own - it's altogether spread far too wide. You try remembering what Gearhead said, and make a few adjustments to the controls, firing again - now the shots are altogether too small and weak, and still spread too wide. Meanwhile, the second fighter is getting ever closer - and headed straight for Gearhead.

"Caleb, it would be good if you figured out that turret NOW!" Gearhead shouts over the comms.

Frantic, trying to figure out what the hell you're supposed to do, you fire another shot - and another - your aim is right, or should be, but it's spread so wide it completely misses. "Gearhead, I'm trying!" you shout, glancing desperately over the controls. You fire another shot - it misses too, and then try to fire another and red lights start blinking at you - nothing happens, and you aren't even sure why.

Gearhead's turret explodes in a fireball as enemy fire overwhelms it; the barrels, smoking, collapse, and smoke gushes out from its ruined innards.

"GEARHEAD!" you shout. You can't believe it. Is he really gone? He can't be! Is this all your fault? You don't know how to work this damn thing!

"Guys! I have two enemy flyers over me, trying to keep them back with the AA turrets, which are a bitch to control. I'll tell you how to work them as best as i can. But for that YOU'LL HAVE TO GET FUKKIN OUT HERE AND HELP ME"

This stupid gun must have some way to speed up the motion. Their hands are close enough to human ones... likely one of the buttons thats easily reachable without moving the hands off the triggers.... or maybe some foot pedal...? Dammit.

check the controls for the outlined buttons/pedals.instruct any arriving friendlies on the known controls

if i cant find out how to get the gun properly turning, try guessing where they'd might be a few seconds later and try shooting at least in the general vicinity of that to force them to change course ((repeat as often as im allowed to fire))if i can find out how to get the gun turning properly, shoot at the flyer which seems most likely to open fire (on me or friendlies) the soonest. Lethal shots preferred, just "force them to abort" shots are fine as well. ((repeat as often as allowed to fire))

if my turret becomes dysfunctional, get to cover behind the nearest suitable object and fire my microwave amp with the intention to disable (maneuvering) thrusters as often as im allowed

"GUYS!" you shout over the comms, desperately. "I have two enemy fliers over me; I'm trying to keep them back with the AA turrets, which are a bitch to control. I'll tell you how to work them as best I can, but for that you'll HAVE TO GET FUKKIN OUT HERE AND HELP ME!!"

You look back over the controls. The stupid gun must have some way to speed up the motion. Their hands are close enough to human ones... likely one of the buttons that's easily reachable without moving the hands off the triggers? Or maybe some foot pedal? You look down - no foot pedals. Obviously - I mean, they have tentacles, so they aren't likely to have two footpedals like you might see in human contraptions...

Then it hits you. They have four arms, not two. You look around, and sure enough, under the primary "aim and fire" controls you see some other more lightweight ones. A little intuition further, and you happen across the levers that controls the turning rate. You push one all the way back and suddenly your turret is turning with a powerful ferocity (at least, compared to what it was before). You fire a few shots at one of the ships as it comes in for another pass, and then another - both miss, but it gets them to break off and cycle back around. "I NEED SOME HELP!" you shout.

"I'm on my way, Gearhead!" you hear Caleb shout over the comms. "Hang on! Let me know how to use those damn things, and I'll try to help shoot the bastards down!" You glance behind you and see him sprinting toward the next turret over from the nacelle entrance.

You begin trying to relay your knowledge. "It's simple. There's two dials up top, a power switch at top-right and power intensity is selected with a dial over on the left, then you have the levers that controls fire focus and spread, and a joystick that controls aim with a trigger on the backside of it. Then below those..." You continue rattling off the various workings of the machine that took you mere moments to decipher, along with the various readouts, camera displays and such, and a mess of other controls that you don't really care what they do, and while you're in the middle of all of this, you've set your spread to fairly low and landed a beautiful shot on one of the attacking ships, just in time to demonstrate how it all comes together. "And that's how you use it!" you radio back. "Lethal shots are preferred, but if you can force them to abort firing, that's fine as well!" You land a second shot on the struggling ship and it explodes, the charred chassis tumbling down gracelessly into a miserable wreck in the distance.

...just as the other one comes in for a pass. You check the charge on your own turret - and it's still recharging from the built-in generator. 20%... 30%... The bar moves slowly to the right, filling up the chamber...

The second hiltorel dual-pod ship swoops in, its main guns trained on you.

50%... 60%...

It's within firing range. It looses a shot of plasma at you - directly at you. You see the bright blue globes sparkle as they approach.

"CALEB!" you shout. "It would be good if you figured out that turret NOW!"

80%...

At the last moment, you make a snap decision to jump away from the turrets just instants before the plasma crashes into it, shaking the whole structure - the continued fire rips it apart with short-lived flames, sending shrapnel and wreckage, broken and twisted pipes and tubing splintering and sprinkling away; smoke belches forth from the interior and the control panel cracks from the heat.

A dark laser trail traces itself across the dusty earth towards you, and you scramble up from the dirt and throw yourself onto the ground behind one of the nearby ships just in time to avoid its path. Caleb fires a few terribly-aimed shots back at it, and it swoops away for another pass. You try to hit it with your microwave amp, but you can't tell that you've done any damage.

Run back into the room with squids,
Jump across the box on the right (helping me with my Gravity Amp, if necessary),
AND coil my lash tightly around the remaining squid, immobilising him.
IF successful, use my Charisma amp to force the complete surrender of the squids:

"Impertinent fools! Why do we have to care for your wretched, worthless, ungodly lives more than you do?! I assumed that not getting killed is pretty important to you! But it looks like you'd rather let yourselves wallow in ignorance than accept a honourable deal!

I give you one last chance - not out of weakness, for we have none, but out of mercy and decency in the eyes of our Lord. Bashing is not seen as an act of noodliness. Drop your weapons, and we shall allow you to leave. Refuse to do so, or betray us...well...The Ninja hath seen no mercy from the Flying Spaghetti Monster, and neither should you!"

IF the squid escapes somehow,
Fry him with my Electricity Amp.

Last edited by outlander on Thu May 31, 2018 2:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

"I told y'all NOT TO LOOK AT 'EM, and now who knows what the hell kind o' squid sorcery they threw at you! Quick, kill 'em all before they do anything else! And I swear, if any of ya start growing tentacles, I'm runnin' back to my ship, nukin' this stupid establishment and callin' it a day."